The Use Of The Polymerase Chain Reaction Technique In The Detection Of The Human Immunodeficiency Virus 1 And 2 In Previously Screened Blood From Donors At The University College Hospital, Ibadan

📄 Project Abstract

One-hundred and ten donor bloods that had been previously screened and found to be negative for Human Immunodeficiency Virus antibody were studied using the Polymerase Chain Reaction method at the University College Hospital, Ibadan. The mean age of the donors was 32.2 years with a male preponderance, (M:F=7.5:1). The mean weight and haematocrit were 69.56kg and 0.43 respectively. The study reveals that most of the donors were family/replacement donors but had very low risk factors for HIV. There is no identifiable risk factor among the blood donors. Although most of the donors in this study engaged in unprotected sex, it is understandable because majority were also married in a monogamous setting. The previously screened donor blood samples that were non-reactive to HIV antibodies were also found to be negative by the PCR method in this study. It means therefore that no donor was in the window period. One can then infer that the screening method for donor blood meant for transfusion i...